Gloom Falls Over Samsung as Phone Group Frets Lost Bonuses, Jobs

The people who make Samsung phones are an elite bunch. They hold the most coveted jobs at the most valuable company within Samsung Group, the largest and most prestigious conglomerate in South Korea.

But the sense of exceptionalism was smashed last week as Samsung Electronics Co. took the unprecedented step of killing off an entire generation of its Note 7 smartphone after persistent problems with battery fires and explosions. Now the 26,600 workers in Korea who were celebrated for taking the co...